/ world today news/ The British Zoo (in Edinburgh, Scotland) has started a countdown to the departure of the Chinese pandas to their homeland. That will happen soon – maybe in December. You can order tickets on the special page of the zoo, which also lists the most common questions asked by upset visitors. Including this one: why are they leaving?
The answer is decidedly devoid of politics: there was a contract for ten years, they had to extend it during the pandemic – that’s it. But everyone understands that there is politics and what kind. Especially considering that this month the Chinese pandas also left the US (the Metropolitan Zoo), and no successors are emerging to take their place, as is the case with the British ones.
Here we must recall that today’s Beijing continues the long-standing imperial tradition of gifting a pair of pandas to neighboring kingdoms as a symbol of peace and friendship. It is really hard to imagine a more non-aggressive animal. Moreover, it is so rare that the current Chinese authorities really do not give it out: we are talking about a business trip, a temporary stay, after which the animals are returned, and if they have offspring, they also belong to the Chinese.
Panda diplomacy is a big success for today’s Beijing. A real world cult arose around these animals, which was greatly facilitated by the mandatory construction of a huge pavilion with an artificial climate for them – and so on in every country to which they were temporarily sent. It is difficult to explain why tapirs or orangutans are worse, but the fact is: before us is the most valuable and revered animal in the world, which at the same time has become a symbol of China instead of the wise, but very toothy and dangerous dragon.
And it is absolutely clear that the departure of the furry animals with no prospects of replacement is Beijing’s signal to the culprits. But the signal is in pure panda style, non-aggressive but memorable. And it gets across very well to the general public: your authorities misbehave – and you are left without our mercy.
It can even be said that before us is the most elegant case in world practice of introducing sanctions that would not harm any country, but would send a signal of lesson and decency. The Westerners tried, among other things, to do something similar with Russia (the hysterical withdrawal of some brands from our market), but the result they got is known – from bewilderment to contempt on our part. But recalling pandas is like recalling ambassadors, but more serious because the general public knows little about ambassadors but a lot about pandas.
Now let’s see what Chinese leader Xi Jinping had to say on this topic while in San Francisco in a speech at a dinner with representatives of China-friendly organizations. Here’s the thing: many Americans, especially children, did not want to part with the pandas and came to the zoo to say goodbye. Californians would love to see them back, too. Pandas have long been ambassadors of friendship between the two countries’ peoples, and China is ready to continue cooperation with the United States to preserve this rare species to meet the desire of Californians to deepen friendly ties between peoples.
Well, he added that the two countries turning their backs on each other is not an option. They must build correct and respectful relations. Of course, this is all politics. In fact, this is the essence of China’s policy towards the US.
The reaction on the American (and British) side is different. Here’s a post in the US with a headline that roughly translates to “We got rid of the pandas.” The author reports that he lives within a ten-minute walk of the same zoo in Washington, DC, but has never visited to look at the Chinese pair. And what is this? Why television cameras, including on helicopters, accompanied the departure of the peace messengers home.
“I really didn’t want to” is a typical and pitiful reaction of a seriously offended person who has something taken from him. If we talk about summarizing the results of the diplomatic season in 2023 between China and the West, the situation is clear: the West must admit that it was not possible to slow down the development of the Asian giant and its transformation into one of the alternative centers of global influence. It will take a long and painful time to develop a new policy for relations with China and the rest of the non-Western world. This will be difficult and may require a change in ruling elites followed by a change in the tone of propaganda, but all other options (except total war) have already been tried. Meanwhile, China will wait, everything is fine with it.
And for now, the panda’s strength is in its absence.
Translation: V. Sergeev
March for Peace, 26.11.23, 2 p.m., NDK:
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